


Never In A Rush

by Estirose



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 09:52:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5492903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shelby isn't "Milady", even if she doesn't really mind Ivan calling her that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never In A Rush

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheSecondBatgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecondBatgirl/gifts).



> This is very fuzzily set somewhere before Sync or Swim.

"Milady?" The words were almost hesitant. Shelby turned around to see Ivan, the newest member of their team, standing there looking expectantly at her. She knew that he didn't have a problem with a girl on a Ranger team, or fighting for that matter; he'd told the tale of the short-lived Knights of Amber Beach, and he'd never questioned her role in the Rangers.

"Yes, Ivan?" She smiled at him, because she felt like it, and made an effort to uncross her arms. He was dressed in a plain white shirt and dark pants - probably borrowed from someone's pre-Ranger wardrobe - which, Shelby had to admit, looked damn good on him.

"Perhaps... we can go out for a bite to eat?" His words were hesitant, and she almost laughed. She didn't know if he was trying to ask her out on a date or just genuinely wanted to talk. She suspected it was the former, for she was sure that "a bite to eat" was not exactly old jargon. 

"Sure!" Ivan had been nothing but nice to her, and while she was sure she wasn't in love with him - though his mannerisms did kind of make her swoon - he was a friend and a teammate. "Where do you want to go?"

She wondered if he'd feel obligated to pay, though. She had money, he didn't. Not until Prince Philip got the papers that Ivan needed. And even then he probably wouldn't be legal in the States.

"I'm not sure, Milady." He gave her a smile. "Perhaps you can choose a place?"

She ran her mind through the possibilities. The Español, which was actually an Italian restaurant, was a nice place but maybe a bit too pricey and romantic. Maybe pizza - there were two nearby, Jungle Karma and Chicago Fire. Jungle Karma had better pizza, and more unusual toppings, but Chicago Fire had genuine Chicago-style. Not that it mattered. Maybe he'd like Japanese - Edoko was nearby, or maybe Hanabi. Or maybe a coffee place - the Naked Lounge and Chocolate Fish were also in the neighborhood. Or maybe Temple Coffee. Yeah, Temple had good food and wasn't too expensive. Or maybe Denny's. She'd gone to Denny's more times than she could count with her girlfriends or fandom friends at cons.

"Let's go to Temple Coffee. They're a coffee place down on 34th." 

"A coffee place you say? Then let's go!" She assumed that someone had introduced him to coffee. Or maybe coffee was a thing back in his time, also, though coffee places might not be.

As usual, Temple was busy. She thought that maybe she should have chosen Naked Lounge - though what would he have thought of the tasteful nudes - or Denny's.

"Maybe Denny's instead," she suggested.

"If Milady wants to drink here, then we shall do so!" Ivan began looking around, as if to figure out which table should be cleared for both of them. Fortunately, Shelby's first choice of a table became open, and she hauled Ivan towards it.

"Here," she said, motioning at him to sit down. He did so obediently. "What kind of coffee do you want? I think I'm having a latte, with a lemon bar to eat."

"Then I shall have the same." He smiled at her, and she headed towards the back of the ordering line. 

A few minutes later, she was back with two lattes and two lemons bars from a local bakery. "Here you go, a latte with a Pushkin Lemon Bar." Being a server at the Cafe had certainly left her doing things on automatic, she realized. 

His smile told him that he had just realized the same thing.

Her own latte was too hot, so she started on the lemon bar. "You don't have to call me Milady," she said. It was kind of nice to hear the title, but it wasn't what she was. She'd never been "Milady", even when she was pretending to be a princess. "Just Shelby. I'm not a lady."

"Nonsense!" he proclaimed. "You may not be a lady in title, but you are one." 

And suddenly she wondered, from the look in his eyes, whether he planned to make her a lady in fact by marrying her when this was all done. Assuming they all survived the whole thing, and she wanted to. She wondered if he realized that she was attracted to Tyler, not him, or if he realized it and hoped to woo her away from Tyler. The mushy stuff was not her thing, but she understood that two Rangers warring over the same teammate was not a good idea.

"Thanks, Ivan." She smiled at him. She'd get him to call her by name later. "So, how are you adjusting to Amber Beach? I bet our customs and things aren't a lot like Zandar's." She figured he'd understand that she also meant how he was adjusting to her century.

"They are not, but I am learning to 'blend in'." She could hear the quotes in his words.

"There's a lot to learn. It's like being in fandom." She knew he would not get the reference, but that would neatly divert his attention away from wooing her or anything like that. She was right; this was supposed to be a date. He'd probably try to pay her back at great length.

"Fandom?" His eyebrows rose. "I'm not familiar with that term."

"Not a lot of people are, even nowadays." She gave him a grin. "Fandom is... well, a fan is someone who likes something a lot. A tv show, a book, a kind of dinosaur, a play... you get the picture. Fandom is a gathering of fans. Except sometimes we have conventions, where a lot of us get together and talk about what we like together. Like a couple of friends and I are into video games, and right now we're having a debate online about which origin - story start - is best." She pulled out her cell phone, showing Ivan the thread she'd been reading earlier today. 

"Mouse?" He asked, bewildered.

"It's a long story." Maybe that hadn't been the best topic to distract him. At least someone had explained cell phones to him. And video games. "But people have passionate discussions about things all the time." She'd spent more time than she'd like to admit on dinosaur-related forums.

"Ah. And do people talk about the Power Rangers?" Ivan asked. He seemed to remember that he had a latte cooling in front of him, and took a sip.

"I don't really know. It's kind of like... I'm grateful for them, but they're not here to entertain us, so I don't really follow what's going on." She gave him a smile. In fact, she didn't know what to make of people determining which Ranger was the most popular and things like that. 

Ivan nodded. "Perhaps that is for the best." He nibbled on his lemon bar. "I have seen many strange and wondrous things since I arrived here."

She had to wonder what he'd think of the woman who hung out in the park near the fountain all day and asked passersby for eels and blowfish. "Yeah, I bet."

"This is quite excellent food and drink," Ivan said, indicating his latte. "Do you prefer these, Milady?"

"Lattes and lemon bars?" She pretended to pause and think. "Sometimes. They're not that healthy."

"Something I have heard said of Miss Morgan's diet." He nodded sagely. "Perchance, what do you prefer?"

Yeah, trying to get to know her better at the least, and probably trying to figure out how to date her. "I like unhealthy food like everybody else, but I eat a lot of salads and things like that. A balanced meal, you know." 

But the look in his eyes told her that he didn't understand.

"I'll explain the slang later." It might have sounded odd if she'd tried to explain it to someone who should know, just in case anybody was in earshot.

"I look forward to learning it." He finished off the lemon bar and smiled at her. It was a nice smile - weren't people from years and years ago supposed to have awful teeth? But Koda's were pretty good as well. He reached across the table and gently took her hand. "Milady."

He almost kissed her hand, but seemed hesitant, as if he didn't have the right quite yet. And she wasn't ready to give him that permission.

"Ivan." And that was all that needed to be said. She clasped his hand in hers, knowing that they'd have time to get to know each other and maybe they'd figure all of this out.


End file.
